With E.J. Gaines ailing, Shareece Wright was thrust into the Bills starting lineup and had the unenviable task of facing Michael Crabtree, one of the NFL's most underrated wide receivers.

And Buffalo got a huge performance from the veteran cornerback in a vital game against an AFC opponent.

Wright was thrown at nine times and allowed four receptions (44.4 percent catch rate). On those four grabs, he surrendered 69 yards – with a long of 40 yards – and no touchdowns.

All that equated to a quarterback rating of 71.1, the 14th-lowest figure among the 34 cornerbacks targeted at least five times in Week Eight before Monday Night Foootball.

Before the game, Derek Carr had a quarterback rating of 119.8 when targeting Crabtree during the 2017 season, the fourth-highest number among receivers with 30 or more targets.

Wright also defended two passes, which tied for the most among qualifying corners.

PFF gave him a pass coverage grade of +2.9 for his effort against Oakland, the highest grade in coverage he's received since Week Twelve of 2015 when he was a member of the Ravens.

Coming into the game, Wright had surrendered 15 receptions on 20 targets for 172 yards with one touchdown, one pass breakup and a quarterback rating of 117.1.

Crabtree had a 40-yard reception against Wright had mustered 14 yards on the other two grabs.

Wright made four tackles – while missing two – and had one "stop."

With Gaines out and safety Jordan Poyer sidelined, the Bills needed defensive back reinforcements like Wright to step up against arguably the best receiver duo in the AFC, and Wright certainly rose to the occasion in Buffalo's victory.